ILLINOIS  HISTORICAL  SURVEY 


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THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 


OR 


THE  LEGEND  OF 
STARVED  ROCK 

A  TALE  OF  ILLINOIS 

BY 
W.  N.  ROUNDY 


CHICAGO 
1916 


Copyright 

by 
THE  AUTHOR 

1916 
All  Rights  Reserved 


250  copies  of  this  Legend  printed 

the  15th  day  of  June,  1916, 

by  Hack  &  Anderson 


DEDICATION 

to  the 

MEMORY 
of 

PONTIAC 

A  Man  of  Vision 


The  Last  of  The  lllini  or 

The  Legend  of 
The  Starved  Rock 


PRELUDE. 

The  story  that  I  fain  would  fashion, 
Is  a  legend  of  the  Indians; 
Floated  down  from  misty  ages, 
From  the  twilight  times  long  vanished, 
When  the  copper  colored  Redmen 
Roamed  in  pride  these  vast  prairies, — 
Free  and  careless  as  the  eagles ; 
Wild  as  storm-clouds  in  a  tempest; 
Happy  like  all  things  unfettered. 

Tis  of  old  times  that  I  tell  you: 
Of  the  days  when  all  these  regions 
Scarcely  knew  a  white  man's  footprint; 
When  the  panther,  deer  and  bison 
Shared  these  meadows,  plains  and  wood- 
lands 

With  the  wild  and  wandering  tribesmen — 
The  Kickapoos,  the  Sacs  and  Foxes; 
The  Ottawas  and  Pottawatomies : 
Last  of  all  and  of  all  greatest, 
The  ruling  nation,  the  Illini ; — 
'Tis  the  latter  and  their  death-song 
Makes  the  burden  of  my  story. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI. 

Canto  I. 
1. 

From  the  Wabash  far  to  westward, 
To  the  lordly  Mississippi; 
From  the  Ohio  far  to  northward, 
To  the  pine  lands  of  Wisconsin, 
Roamed  of  olden  the  Illini; 
O'er  the  prairies  hunted  bison; 
Chased  the  antelope  and  red  deer; 
Caught  the  mink,  muskrat  and  beaver; 
Held  their  festivals  and  corn  dance; 
Danced  their  scalp  dance  and  their  sun 

dance; 

Made  themselves  as  glad  as  might  be; 
Called  these  limitless  prairies 
Homeland — saying  they  were  given 
By  their  Father — the  Great  Spirit. 

2. 

Men  alone  are  strong  and  mighty, 
Who  forever  toil  and  struggle; 
Action  maketh  Gods  and  Freemen; 
Sloth  is  but  the  sire  of  cowards. 


8  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

3. 

In  their  early  days  of  glory 
Strove  in  labor  the  Illini; 
Followed  hunting  for  subsistence; 
Played  at  ball  for  sport  and  pastime; 
Went  to  war  because  they  loved  it. 
All  things  would  they  do  and  suffer, 
That  could  make  them  still  more  rugged. 
In  the  autumn  they  made  journeys, 
Southward  to  the  Smoky  Mountains, 
Over  many  broad  swift  rivers, 
Past  the  country  of  green  meadows, 
Past  the  salt  springs  and  the  deer  licks, 
To  the  country  of  the  Choctows, 
There  to  buy  or  trade  for  pottery; 

4. 

In  the  springtime,  oft  a  party, 
Made  of  picked  and  eager  young  men, 
Restless  for  some  far  adventure, 
Would  in  light  canoes  of  birch  bark, 
Push  far  up  the  Mississippi, 
Then  into  the  clear  Wisconsin, 
Next  by  portage  to  the  Green  Bay, 
They  would  reach  Lake  Michigamia, 
Whose  blue  waters  and  cool  breezes, 
Wooed  them  ever  hither,  thither, 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  9 

To  explore  the  world  and  find  them 
Fairer  facts  to  fit  their  Fancies — 
Hardy  youths  must  still  be  dreamers. 
Whether  north  or  south  they  paddled, 
On  the  great  vast  waste  of  waters, 
Always  their  home  route  was  ever 
By  the  dull  Checagou  river. 
When  by  portage  to  the  Des  Plaines, 
Down  they  floated  to  their  village. 
Not  disputeless  were  these  journeys — 
Rather  would  it  often  happen, 
Every  camp  ground  showed  fierce  fighting; 
Every  portage  heard  wild  war-whoops. 

Thus  they  spent  the  speeding  seasons ; 

Ever  growing  strong  by  action, 

Molding  still  their  hearts  to  hardships, 

And  by  fiercest  of  adventures, 

Making  good  to  sight  of  nations, 

The  meaning  of  their  chosen  race-name, 

The  Illini — first  of  all  men. 

But  at  length  came  years  of  plenty; 

On  the  fertile  river  bottoms, 

Waved  for  miles  the  yellow  corn  fields, 

Lifting  proudly  their  full  bounty, 

Waiting  for  the  time  of  harvest, 

When  the  squaws  with  willow  baskets, 


10  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

Came  to  pluck  the  ears  full  ripened. 
Game  and  fish  leaped  all  around  them ; 
From  the  chase  and  from  their  trapping, 
Still  the  hunters  came  full  handed, 
While  the  fishers  in  the  river 
Found  it  tiresome  to  bring  homeward, 
All  the  strings  of  pike  and  catfish ; 
Having  more  than  what  they  needed, 
They  f orebore  their  restless  striving, 
Satisfied  with  mere  enjoyment — 
Then  they  revelled  and  they  feasted : 
They  reclined  beneath  the  shade  trees, 
Telling  tales  to  one  another; 
While  at  eve  by  gleam  of  camp  fire, 
They  would  sit  beneath  the  twilight, 
With  sparkling  eyes  and  swelling  bosoms, 
Barkening  ancient  deeds  of  valor. 

7. 

While  at  ease  lived  the  Illini, 
Midst  their  game  and  corn  in  plenty, 
To  the  East  and  West  and  Northward, 
Hungry  eyes  watched  their  good  fortune, 
Hungry  ears  drank  in  their  f  eastings, 
Parched  lips  kept  repeating  over: 
All  good  things  are  overflowing, 
In  the  land  of  the  Illini ! 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  11 

Like  a  fire  before  the  West  wind, 
Spread  the  news  of  their  abundance: 
Swiftly  came  Earth's  word  in  answer. 
From  the  East,  the  fierce  Five  Nations, 
Making  war  upon  the  Hurons, 
On  the  Shawnees  and  Miamis, 
Finding  that  their  store  of  deer  meat, 
Was  becoming  low  and  lower, 
Would  say  simply:  We  are  victors, 
Let  us  push  a  little  farther, 
To  the  land  of  the  Illini, 
There  all  things  are  waiting  for  us ! 


From  the  dark  woods  of  Wisconsin, 
After  cold  and  rugged  winters, 
Came  the  gaunt-eyed  Winnebagoes, 
Fierce  as  wolves  with  spur  of  hunger, 
To  the  land  of  the  Illini ; 
Giving  war-whoops  as  their  payment, 
For  their  gracious  entertainment; 
With  perchance  a  flight  of  arrows, 
Or  swift  blows  from  heavy  war-clubs; 
Leaving  groans  of  dead  and  dying, 
As  their  gifts  to  the  Illini, 
For  the  corn-meal  and  the  deer  meat. 


12  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

8. 

Thus  from  many  different  nations, 
Came  unceasing  feud  and  forage, 
As  Earth's  answer  to  their  fortune. 
Though  at  first  they  fought  and  conquered, 
Beating  back  the  roving  strangers, 
Who  would  rob  them  of  their  plenty; 
Yet  more  oft,  the  fierce  invaders, 
Left  red  marks  of  blood  behind  them ; 
Left  bleak  wails  of  mourning  kinsmen ; 
Left  dismay  and  desolation, 
By  the  gently  flowing  river, 
In  the  land  of  the  Illini. 

So  in  time  this  mighty  nation, 

Great  in  spirit  and  in  numbers, 

In  fame  and  strength  were  sadly  broken; 

In  numbers  much  decreased  and  lessened, 

By  their  very  reputation, 

As  a  race  of  peace  and  plenty, 

As  possessors  of  abundance. 

9. 

A  little  space  of  respite  reached  them, 
Through  the  efforts  of  the  Frenchmen, 
Who  first  came  on  explorations, 
Down  the  gently  flowing  river; 
Father  Maquette,  mild  voiced  preacher; 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  13 

Joliet,  the  youthful  trader; 
Bold  La  Salle  and  noble  Tonti : 
These  as  friends  helped  the  Illini ; 
Fought  with  them  against  their  f  oemen, 
Or  invoked  protection  for  them. 
'Gainst  the  wandering  fierce  Five  Nations, 
Or  the  fighting  wild  Dacotahs. 

Only  for  a  brief,  glad  season, 

Did  the  Frenchmen  guard  and  aid  them : 

Even  then  the  cunning  traders, 

Undermined  them  with  their  whiskey; 

Gave  them  lies  for  their  believing, 

Till  at  length  came  on  the  English, 

The  Virginia  frontiersmen, 

Men  as  fierce  as  any  savage. 

While  the  terrors  of  the  country, 

The  far-roving,  fierce  Five  Nations, 

Kept  them  all  alert  for  battle, 

Thinned  their  numbers  by  quick  onslaughts, 

And  reduced  by  force  and  cunning, 

The  power  of  this  mighty  nation. 

Pontiac,  the  far-famed  chieftain, 

Roused  the  valor  of  their  young  men, 

In  the  splendid  cause  of  Freedom, 

And  of  vengeance  'gainst  the  white  man ; 

Led  them  far  away  to  battle, 

Many  led  away  forever. 


14  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILUNI 

Tis  at  such  time,  weak  in  numbers, 
Scarce  five  hundred  able  warriors, 
That  Fate  descended  in  its  fury, 
Over  the  ill  doomed  Illini. 

10. 

Born  far  north  of  diverse  parents, 
Half  Ojibway,  half  Ottawa, 
No  wise  kin  to  the  Illini, 
Save  as  member  of  the  Metai, 
Pontiac,  the  chief  of  chieftains, 
Years  before,  by  deeds  of  valor, 
Raised  his  name  before  his  People, 
Till  he  overruled  the  country, 
East  and  Westward  from  the  Hurons; 
Gaining  ground,  he  gained  ambition; 
Gaining  likewise  hate  for  white  men: 
(For  the  wrongs  the  Redmen  suffered, 
Cried  aloud  to  God  for  justice, 
Called  for  action  to  their  leaders). 

Then  he  planned  a  mighty  movement, 
'Twas  no  less  than  one  great  race-league. 
Which  uniting  all  the  Redmen, 
Should  in  purpose  be  the  death-knell 
Of  the  savage  white  invaders, 
That  is,  of  the  savage  English; 
For  the  Indians  loved  the  Frenchmen, 
Since  they  intermarried  with  them. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  15 

11. 

It  was  Pontiac  who  planned  it, 
Planned  this  great  league  of  the  Redmen; 
He  the  greatest, — save  Tecumseh, — 
Who  by  wisdom,  strength  and  valor, 
Ever  tried  to  stem  the  onrush 
Of  the  white  men  o'er  the  Redmen. 
Far  he  journeyed,  this  great  warrior, 
From  the  Northland  to  the  Southland, 
From  the  East  unto  the  Westland, 
Ever  urging  and  exhorting 
His  red  kinsmen  to  arouse  them, 
To  surround  and  kill  the  white  wolves, 
Ere  the  chance  for  action  vanished. 
Through  a  hundred  tribes  he  wandered, 
Some  so  far  their  tongue  he  spake  not, 
Speaking  to  them  through  sign  language. 

12. 

Once  he  called  the  tribes  together, 
Where  Lake  Huron  is  united, 
To  Lake  Erie  by  a  river, 
Where  Detroit  has  since  been  builded ; 
There  for  months  he  fought  the  English, 
Held  them  all  behind  their  redoubts ; 
Scared  them,   awed  them,  starved  them, 
shot  them, 


16  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

And  was  on  the  verge  of  triumph, 
In  a  cunning  foray  on  them, 
When  at  length  the  siege  was  broken, 
By  the  secret  information, 
Of  the  plot  to  kill  the  English, 
Given  to  Commander  Gladwin, 
By  an  Indian  maid  who  loved  him. 

13. 

Thus  do  love  and  women  ever 
Mold  the  fate  of  men  and  nations 
Now  as  in  those  olden  ages 
When  the  Greeks  besieged  the  Trojans. 

14. 

Being  worn  out  with  their  waiting, 
When  they  learned  about  the  warning, 
Quick  the  clansmen  vanished  homeward, 
Each  tribe  to  its  woods  and  meadows. 
Even  Pontiac  could  not  detain  them; 
Even  his  fierce  fiery  language 
Failed  to  hold  their  courage  steady. 
For  the  redman  on  the  warpath 
Must  perceive  a  sure  achievement, 
Must  feel  certain  of  his  victory, 
Or  his  courage  and  endurance, 
And  especially  his  patience, 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  17 

Flies  into  a  thousand  pieces, 
Vanishes  like  smoke  of  grasses. 
The  distinction  of  high  courage 
Is  the  holding  to  a  purpose; 
This  trait  only  comes  with  training; 
Hence  'tis  lacking  in  the  savage. 

15. 

Seventeen  hundred  sixty-three 
Was  the  year  of  this  great  failure; 
Then  the  Peace  twixt  French  and  English 
Made  another  chance  more  doubtful. 
This  Peace  made  between  two  f  oemen, 
Though  it  puzzled  all  the  Redmen, 
Never  daunted  that  great  warrior, 
Pontiac,  the  chief  of  chieftains, 
Lessened  not  his  hate  for  English ; 
Only  added  hate  for  Frenchmen. 

16. 

Six  full  winters  then  succeeded; 

Now  again  the  old  thought  rankled ; 

Rose  in  Pontiac  the  purpose, 

To  unite  against  the  English, 

And,  before  the  chance  had  vanished, 

Drive  them  from  the  Redman's  homeland : 

So  from  place  to  place  he  journeyed, 


18  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

Seeking  every  council  meeting, 
Which  might  give  him  chance  for  talking 
Of  the  great  thought  in  his  bosom : 
Thus  at  length  to  south  and  westward, 
Hearing  of  a  mighty  meeting, 
To  be  held  beside  the  river, 
The  lordly  giant  Mississippi, 
Pontiac  came  to  tell  his  purpose, 
And  to  win  the  warriors  to  it. 
Friends  he  had  in  every  nation; 
Fellow  clansmen  bound  by  mystic 
Ties  of  lodge-lore  fast  unto  him: 
Raven  was  he  and  an  Eagle, 
Buffalo  and  Beaver  totem, 
Likewise  member  of  the  Metai, 
The  largest  secret  Indian  order. 
For  this  reason,  he  Ottawa, 
Came  the  greatest  Redman  living, 
To  the  land  of  the  Illini, 
Came  to  push  his  purposed  race-league, 
For  a  war  against  the  English. 


Friends  were  there  from  many  nations, 
Each  one  hating  down  to  heart  core 
The  savage  faces  of  the  English, 
Waiting  only  for  a  leader. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  19 

THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI. 
CANTO  II. 

1. 

At  the  village  of  Cahokia, 

By  the  mighty  Mississippi, 

Was  the  meeting  place  appointed 

For  a  feast  of  ancient  usage: 

Many  chiefs  had  come  together, 

Many  warriors  of  far  nations ; 

Kickapoos,  Pottawattomies, 

Sacs  and  Foxes  and  Ojibway, 

Many  Shawnees  and  Miamis; 

Most  in  number,  the  Illini, 

Who  were  on  their  winter  camp  ground. 

2. 

With  his  proud  head  lifted  haughty; 
With  his  black  eyes  flashing  fury, 
There  strode  Pontiac,  the  Chieftain: 
Lonely  was  his  heart  and  heavy; 
Once  more  had  he  been  defeated, 
Once  more  had  his  hopes  been  baffled; 
Once  more  had  his  faith  and  trusting 
To  the  promises  of  white  men 
Been  destroyed  like  reeds  wind-broken, 
Dreams  of  years  had  sunk  to  nothing. 
Though  six  years  had  come  and  vanished, 


20  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

In  his  mind  the  old  wound  rankled, 

For  his  hatred  kept  it  open, 

Kept  it  fresh  for  his  remembrance. 

3. 

Thus  his  heart  its  chance  was  waiting, 
Waiting  for  its  day  of  vengeance, 
The  day  that  had  been  surely  promised, 
By  the  Manitoo,  the  Spirit, 
To  himself  and  to  his  People. 
A  man  was  he  both  strong  and  wily; 
True  as  oak  unto  his  kinsmen; 
Fierce  as  fire  unto  his  f  oemen, 
Kingly  in  his  looks  and  bearing : 
Quicker  still  at  acts  than  speeches; 
Swifter  still  to  move  than  linger; 
Eager  always  to  go  forward. 
Somewhat  hard,  stern  and  forbidding; 
Somewhat  gentle  too  and  winning, 
Master  both  of  friends  and  strangers; 
On  he  strode  with  quick,  lithe  footsteps, 
To  the  meeting  of  his  clansmen. 

4. 

'Twas  a  day  of  solemn  feasting, 
In  honor  of  the  old  achievements, 
Wrought  in  pastimes  by  the  Redmen, 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLJNI  21 

By  the  great  Algonquin  war-chiefs. 
Lifted  up  by  his  great  purpose, 
Wrapped  around  as  by  a  Vision, 
There  came  Pontiac,  the  Chieftain; 
Great  in  fact  and  great  in  feeling, 
As  the  best  of  his  ancestors ; 
In  wisdom,  greater  than  the  greatest: 
They  had  rushed  to  war  and  triumphed; 
He  had  fought  and  he  had  waited; 
Gainst  Time  itself  had  been  a  victor; 
Like  a  rock  was  he  in  patience; 
Like  a  reed  to  bend  when  need  be. 
As  he  passed  on  through  the  village, 
To  the  borders  of  the  forest, 
The  twinkling  lights  within  the  houses, 
Stabbed  him  like  so  many  arrows; 
While  the  fort's  gun  with  its  booming, 
Telling  the  approach  of  sunset, 
Roused  in  him  a  bitter  raving, 
For  he  saw  in  these  an  omen 
Of  the  Redman's  sure  destruction ; 
In  such  things  he  saw  lay  hidden 
Poison  that  should  kill  his  People. 

5. 

On  the  border  of  the  forest, 
In  a  meadow  fringed  with  oak  trees, 
Was  assembled  the  great  meeting; 


22  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

Round  the  circle  of  red  faces, 
Firelight  flung  its  ruddy  colors, 
When  toward  it  moved  a  figure, 
Prouder,  sterner  than  all  others, 
More  imperious  and  more  haughty : 
Cries  of  huh !  huh !  then  ran  swiftly 
Round  the  circle — 'twas  a  welcome 
To  the  far-famed  mighty  chieftain. 

6. 

With  a  short  curt  word  of  greeting, 
He  sat  down  within  the  circle, 
Listening  to  the  common  business. 
Long  the  feasting  and  carousing, 
Mong  those  far-met  friendly  clansmen, 
In  that  meadow  hid  in  twilight, 
Lit  up  by  the  lonely  firelight; 
Till  at  length,  the  mighty  Chieftain, 
Pontiac,  moved  toward  the  centre; 
Not  a  sound  broke  on  the  stillness; 
Not  a  leaf  stirred  in  the  forest, 
As  the  chief  of  many  battles, 
Stood  a  moment  like  a  statue, 
Gravely  searched  the  rows  of  faces, 
Painted  by  the  ruddy  firelight, 
On  a  curtain  made  of  shadows, 
Then  with  deep  voice  in  whose  volume, 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  23 

Slumbered  waves  of  hidden  passion, 
Thus  he  spake  unto  his  People: 

SPEECH  OF  PONTIAC. 

Brothers,  I  am  glad  to  meet  you; 
My  eyes  rejoice  to  see  my  kinsmen; 
My  heart  is  kindled  by  your  faces. 
Many  years  now  you  have  known  me, 
You  know  that  I  have  battled  for  you, 
Against  your  foes,  the  hated  English; 
You  know  I  hate  them  now  as  ever. 
Forty  summers  have  passed  over, 
Since  I  sought  them  on  the  war-path; 
Then  my  hair  was  like  the  raven's; 
Now  'tis  flecked  with  fallen  snowflakes, 
It  has  felt  the  touch  of  winter. 
Yet  my  heart  is  strong  and  hopeful; 
Still  I  look  to  see  the  Future, 
Give  back  power  to  the  Redman; 
I  shall  see  my  People  happy. 
Much  in  former  days  I  counselled, 
Things  that  ever  more  proved  true  things, 
For  the  Spirit  sent  them  to  me: 
Now  again  I  speak,  the  last  time, 
Words  my  lips  are  fierce  to  utter; 
In  my  heart,  the  Spirit  stirs  them, 
And  I  cannot  keep  them  under. 


24  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

You  know  I  sent  to  our  French  father, 

Asking  aid  against  the  English: 

Weak  women's  words  were  brought  back  to 

me, 

Saying:  All  are  friends  together; 
Frenchmen  love  their  foes  the  English, 
And  the  Redmen  too  must  love  them. 
I  make  no  answer  to  such  folly; 
Let  the  Frenchmen  love  the  English; 
They  may  love  grey  wolves  and  panthers : 
But  I  say  to  you,  my  Brothers, 
We  must  arm  and  fight  together, 
Must  be  from  East  to  West  one  People; 
Must  rouse  ourselves  and  wait  the  signal, 
Then  like  lightning  seize  the  English, 
Kill  them  as  they  kill  the  red  deer 
In  the  deep  snow  drifts  of  winter; 
Sweep  them  from  the  sight  of  daylight, 
Leave  no  seed  for  next  year's  harvest. 

Maybe  there  are  some  here  gathered, 
Who  are  friends  unto  the  English; 
Let  them  listen;  they  must  follow, 
Or  Til  drive  them  from  these  prairies, 
As  the  fire  burns  grass  in  autumn, 
Not  a  tuft  of  them  shall  linger. 
But  we  shall  triumph  all  together; 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  25 

The  Manitou  has  whispered  to  me, 
Saying:  All  things  are  the  Redmen's  kin« 

men; 

All  the  beasts  and  birds  and  fishes ; 
All  the  hills  and  brooks  and  meadows ; 
All  the  forests  and  the  rivers; 
All  the  clouds  within  the  heavens : 
He  alone  has  known  and  loved  them ; 
Has  worn  his  trails  across  the  meadows ; 
Has  placed  his  dead  upon  the  hill-tops. 
Therefore  hills  and  plains  and  rivers, 
Are  for  him  and  for  him  only. 
This  is  why  it  must  and  shall  be, 
That  we  triumph  all  together, — 
This  is  the  Great  Spirit's  reason: 

We  are  brothers;  they  are  strangers; 
We  are  friends  and  they  are  f oemen ; 
We  are  owners;  they,  intruders; 
We  are  children  of  the  Father, 
They  are  outcasts,  come  from  nowhere: 
Will  you  let  them  dispossess  you? 
Take  the  graves  of  your  forefathers, 
Spoil  the  bones  of  your  great  chieftains, 
Scatter  forth  your  wives  and  children, 
And  like  vultures  sit  in  triumph, 
On  your  own  unburied  bodies? 


26  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

No!  you  shall  have  better  fortune; 
The  Great  Spirit  guards  his  children, 
When  they  give  their  pledges  to  him. 
Why  do  bullets  never  reach  me? 
Why  are  English  threats  as  nothing? 
Tis  because  I  do  the  bidding 
Of  the  Manitou,  the  Spirit, 
Who  long  years  ago  had  willed  it, 
That  I  save  you,  my  own  People; 
That  I  bring  you  back,  my  brothers, 
The  Glory  and  the  Pride  and  Valor 
Of  the  warriors,  your  forefathers; 
You  shall  see  the  day  when  never 
Our  great  meadows  and  our  rivers 
Shall  be  darkened  by  the  English; 
The  time  is  coming  when  the  sunshine 
Shall  see  the  Redmen  free  and  happy: 
I  have  spoken.  This  you  all  know, 
I  will  act  the  words  I  utter; 
When  the  wampum  belts  are  ready, 
I  will  lead  you  on  the  war-path. 

7. 

As  he  ceased,  a  sudden  rustle, 
Running  round  the  darkened  circle, 
Showed  the  interest  of  his  hearers ; 
Then  huh !  huh !  in  quick  succession, 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  27 

Clenched  the  words  that  had  been  spoken. 
With  a  flush  on  his  dark  features, 
The  mighty  chieftain  paused  a  moment, 
Looked  round  with  an  eager  searching 
In  his  eyes  of  restless  roving; 
Gravely  took  a  proffered  peace  pipe; 
Puffed  two  whiffs  of  strong  tobacco; 
Then  with  wave  of  friendly  greeting, 
Strode  out  from  the  fire-lit  circle, 
Out  toward  the  darkened  forest, 
Where  the  shadows  hung  together, 
Making  meshes  deep  and  solemn; 
There  he  went  to  chant  his  war-songs, 
And  invoke  the  Spirit's  blessing. 

The  meeting  meanwhile  broke  up  swiftly, 
Each  man  pondering  o'er  the  war  words. 

8. 

Just  without  the  fire-lit  circle, 
A  trader  had  been  standing  silent, 
Listening  to  the  great  Chiefs  language, 
And  his  threats  of  war-like  meaning. 
An  English  trader  who  saw  foremost, 
That  a  war  would  spoil  his  profits; 
Quickly  made  he  his  decision : 
(Greed  for  money  knows  no  conscience 


28  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

And  will  dare  all  things  by  proxy.) 

Thus  the  trader  acted  swiftly; 

With  a  sly  and  cautious  gesture, 

He  called  a  renegade  Illini, 

Who  was  coming  from  the  meeting, 

Scarcely  fit  to  know  the  meaning 

Of  what  things  had  taken  place  there, 

(Made  so  by  the  grace  of  whiskey) 

Though  awake  enough  to  reckon. 

That  he  wanted  more  fire-water. 

The  trader  knew  his  man  to  heart  core; 

Beckoning  him  into  a  shadow, 

He  promised  then  to  give  him  whiskey, 

Powder,  bullets,  too,  and  money, 

If  he  killed  the  ancient  f  oeman 

Of  the  English ;  the  one  man,  also 

Who  in  open  council  meeting, 

Dared  to  threaten  an  Illini; 

These  few  words  and  then  the  trader, 

Went  back  slowly  to  the  village, 

With  his  black  heart  wreathed  in  smilings : 

While  the  renegade  Illini 

Sneaked  off  through  the  darkened  shadows. 

9. 

Careless,  heedless,  unsuspecting, 
Many  young  ambitious  warriors, 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  29 

Kinsmen  of  the  famous  Chieftain, 
Made  a  circle  round  the  camp  fire, 
Waiting  for  their  chief's  returning, 
Meantime  passing  round  the  peace-pipe. 
As  they  smoked,  from  out  the  forest, 
Came  a  voice  upraised  in  music, 
Chanting  medicine  and  war  songs, 
Asking  aid  from  the  Great  Spirit. 
When  they  heard  his  deep  voiced  singing, 
They  looked  and  smiled  at  one  another, 
Knowing  something  was  forthcoming, 
When  the  Chief  invoked  the  Spirit. 

10. 

As  they  talked  in  quiet  converse, 

Of  a  sudden,  lo!  a  stillness 

Fell  upon  the  flickering  firelight, 

On  the  meadows  and  the  wide  fields, 

Over  all  the  darkened  forest; 

They  listened  and  again  they  listened, 

For  the  voice  to  raise  its  chanting, 

For  the  voice  of  the  great  war  chief, 

Communing  with  the  Manitou. 

All  around  was  solemn  silence: 

Then  in  wonder  at  the  stillness, 

Up  they  sprang  from  round  the  camp  fire, 

Rushed  into  the  gloomy  forest, 


30  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

And  upon  the  crisp  brown  oak  leaves 
Found    the    Chiefs    dead    body    stabbed 

through, 

From  the  back  by  an  assassin, 
The  corpse  of  the  far-famed  warrior, 
Hero  of  a  hundred  battles, 
Pontiac,  the  chief  of  chieftains. 

11. 

As  they  raised  the  mournful  death-song, 
From  the  shadows  sprang  in  terror, 
The  low  and  cowardly  assassin, 
Born  by  chance  and  luckless  fortune 
To  the  name  but  not  the  nature 
Of  a  true  man,  an  Illini. 

12. 

Long  ago  the  word  was  written; 
Both  the  innocent  and  guilty 
Must  of  need  together  suffer; 
Men  are  still  their  brothers'  keepers : 
He  who  scorns  this  fact  will  rue  it. 

13. 

Quick  as  speeds  a  flying  arrow, 
Sprang  three  warriors  hasting  forward, 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  31 

After  the  dim  flying  figure, 

Toward  the  village  of  Cahokia, 

The  quiet,  peaceful  little  village, 

Where  beside  their  friends,  the  Frenchmen, 

Lived  in  winter  the  Illini, 

Numbering  now  perhaps  a  thousand. 

Behind  them  in  the  darkened  forest, 

Rose  the  mournful,  wailing  death-song, 

Chanted  by  the  faithful  kinsmen, 

For  the  honor  of  their  war-chief, 

Gone  at  last  beyond  the  rivers. 

Fast  flew  pursued  and  the  pursuers; 

But  beside  the  Mississippi, 

He  escaped  into  the  darkness, 

Fled  away  into  the  willows, 

Which  obscured  it  like  a  jungle. 

Seeing  not  but  caring  nothing, 

Since  tribes  answer  for  their  members, 

Giving  payment  as  requittal, 

Or  more  oft  another  member, 

Who  should  expiate  injustice, 

Wiping  out  Death's  wrong  by  dying. 

Blind  with  anguish,  rage  and  horror, 

On  they  rushed  into  the  village, 

Calling  with  loud  cries  the  Elders, 

To  deliver  up  the  traitor, 

Or  give  vengeance  as  befitted, 


32  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

That  they  might  thus  make  atonement, 
For  the  dear  blood  of  their  kinsman, 
After  the  established  custom. 

14. 

Then  the  Elders  speaking  gravely, 
Said  in  turn  that  they  were  sorry, 
Though  they  knew  naught  of  the  matter, 
They  promised  to  the  anguished  kinsmen, 
Two  Ojibways  from  Wisconsin; 
One  Ottawa  from  the  northland, 
That  if  wrong  had  been  committed, 
Justice  would  in  time  be  given, 
After  the  Illini  blood-law: 
Thus  the  Elders  gravely  answered. 

15. 

But  not  so,  the  younger  warriors; 
Decked  and  daubed  and  full  of  whiskey, 
They  spoke  out  with  words  of  boasting; 
Said  their  fathers  were  the  rulers 
Of  that  land  from  East  to  Westward. 
Then  what  business  had  the  war-chief, 
To  come  there  to  make  them  trouble: 
Were  he  dead,  it  were  small  matter; 
They  could  live  again  in  comfort. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  33 

16. 

Thus  spake  rashly,  the  young  warriors, 

Made  mere  fools  by  too  much  whiskey. 

But  in  answer  said  the  kinsmen: 

We  demand  our  sacred  blood-rites; 

Give  us  vengeance,  or  we  take  it; 

We  have  warned  you;  you  have  heard  us! 

Baffled,  back  they  went  in  sorrow, 
All  intent  upon  their  blood-rites, 
Back  to  where  beside  the  chieftain, 
Friends  were  raising  still  the  death-song, 
Neath  the  lonely  sombre  shadows, 
In  the  darkened  midnight  forest. 

17. 

Having  been  refused  their  blood  rites, 

Satisfaction  set  by  custom, 

By  the  tribe  of  whom  a  member 

Has  been  guilty  of  a  murder, 

One  thing  now  remained  before  them, 

Ceaseless,  bloody  retribution 

On  each  man  born  an  Illini. 

For  by  ancient  Indian  custom, 

Any  tribe  denying  payment 

For  the  ill  deed  of  a  member, 


34  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

Could  be  swept  from  off  the  Earth's  face, 
By  the  kinsmen  of  the  injured: 
Thus  each  clansman  of  the  Chieftain, 
Called  for  war  'gainst  the  Illini. 

18. 

Leaving  one  to  guard  the  body, 
All  the  rest — his  friends  and  kinsmen — 
More  than  fifty  all  together, 
Chiefs  and  warriors  of  tried  valor, 
With  a  parting  look  of  anguish, 
Turning  from  the  great  dead  Chieftain, 
Plunged  into  the  lonely  forest, 
Each  in  a  diverse  direction, 
And  vanished  through  the  darkened 
shadows. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  35 

THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI. 
Canto  III. 

1. 

Blood  for  blood! — the  cry  resounded, 
Over  hill  and  plain  and  meadow; 
'Twas  a  clansmen's  shout  of  vengeance: 
Swifter  than  a  coming  tempest; 
Faster  than  the  gleam  of  lightning; 
Wild  as  howl  of  wolves  in  winter. 
Speeding  on  it  gathered  fury, 
Like  the  cloud  that  bears  destruction, — 
Like  the  tempest  which  Death  follows, — 
Woe!  unto  the  doomed  Illini. 

2. 

All  thenceforth  was  stir  and  bustle 

In  the  village  of  Cahokia: 

By  the  Elders  word  was  given, 

To  make  ready  the  next  morning, 

To  return  unto  their  homeland, 

Far  away  from  the  great  River, 

To  the  stream  that  floweth  gently, 

Specked  with  islands;  edged  with  sandcliffs; 

To  their  village  of  La  Ventum, — 

To  the  meadows  of  their  fathers. 


36  .  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

When  the  morning  flung  its  grey  light, 

Far  across  the  wide  prairies, 

Hastily  within  the  village, 

By  the  mighty  Mississippi, 

The  Illini  rose  together, 

Rose  and  cooked  a  scanty  breakfast, 

Then  with  speed  of  a  war-party, 

Packing  up  their  camp  utensils, 

Wended  forth  to  North  and  Eastward, 

Over  a  well  beaten  roadway, 

To  the  land  of  their  forefathers, 

To  their  village  of  La  Ventum, 

On  the  fertile  river  bottoms, 

By  the  gently  flowing  river. 

Little  time  for  rest  was  given; 
Urged  on  ever  by  the  warriors, 
They  were  pushed  forth  to  the  journey. 
Three  days  passed  in  stolid  travel; 
On  the  fourth  day  just  at  twilight, 
When  they  looked  down  on  the  river, 
From  the  cliffs  that  edge  the  valley, 
Round  about  the  wide  horizon, — 
To  the  North  and  East  and  Southward ; 
To  the  Westward,  too,  behind  them, 
Came  short  puffs  of  fire  a  moment, 
Which  soon  vanished  into  darkness, 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  37 

Then  the  keen  eyes  of  the  Elders 
Grew  anxious  and  again  more  anxious, 
As  pushing  through  the  gathering  dark- 
ness, 

They  saw  the  signal  fires  repeated. 
On  they  hurried  fast  and  faster; 
One  or  two  young  men  and  runners, 
Sped  ahead  unto  the  village, 
To  give  warning  to  the  women, 
To  the  children  and  the  old  men, 
Who  had  been  engaged  in  planting, 
To  drop  everything  and  follow: 
Whither?  came  the  weary  question, 
From  an  old  squaw  worn  with  labor, 
To  the  Rock!  came  back  the  answer. 

4. 

Fronting  boldly  to  the  Northward, 

With  its  deep  indented  edges, 

Worn  out  by  the  mighty  waters, 

In  the  floods  of  bye-gone  ages, 

There  beside  the  gentle  river 

Loomed  up  through  the  dusk  of  evening 

The  great  Rock  which  had  been  famous, 

Since  the  time  when  noble  Tonti 

With  a  mere  handful  of  allies, 

Beat  the  fierce  Five  Nations  from  it. 


38  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

Round  it  had  the  torrents  sweeping, 
Left  it  standing  like  a  giant, 
All  bereft  of  friends  and  kinsmen ; 
There  in  grandeur  stood  their  haven, 
Toward  which  now  all  the  Illini, 
Warriors,  women,  maids  and  children, 
Went  pell-mell  in  a  wild  panic, 
Headlong  to  escape  their  foemen, — 
The  dead  Chieftain's  clan  and  kinsmen, 
Who  were  coming  for  their  vengeance. 

5. 

As  they  passed  across  the  river, 
Some  in  light  canoes  of  birch  bark, 
Some  by  fording,  others  swimming; 
To  them  came  a  burst  of  yelling, 
With  a  swarm  of  flying  arrows, 
Cutting  all  the  water  round  them, — 
Signal  fires  were  bearing  fruitage! 
Then  the  whiz  of  bullets  o/er  them, 
Showed  their  foemen  were  increasing. 
In  return  the  warriors  sent  back, 
Answer  by  a  quick  sharp  volley, 
Which  raised  death-songs  up  behind  them, 
And  grim  yells  of  maddened  fury, 
From  the  willows  by  the  river; 
Just  grim  yells,  but  not  the  body 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

Of  a  foeman  shone  from  cover. 
Then  the  swift  eyes  of  the  Elders, 
Grew  relieved  for  well  they  reckoned, 
If  their  foes  were  great  in  number, 
They  would  rush  forth  to  attack  them. 
Fast  they  fled  along  the  lowlands, — 
On  their  right  the  shining  sand  cliffs ; 
On  their  left,  the  gentle  river; 
And  in  front  straight  on  before  them, 
The  great  Rock  in  silence  standing, 
Like  a  mighty  pillar  placed  there, 
By  the  Manitoo,  the  Spirit, 
As  a  refuge  for  his  children. 
Soon  above  them  shone  the  shadows 
Of  the  mighty  Rock, — their  haven. 
To  the  inner  side  they  hurried, 
Where  a  pathway,  steep  and  narrow 
Wound  its  way  unto  the  summit; 
There  the  warriors  turned  and  facing, 
Held  at  bay  their  fleet  pursuers ; 
While  the  women  and  the  children 
Clambered  up  the  rocky  pathway: 
One  by  one  the  warriors  followed, 
While  from  out  the  trees  and  bushes, 
Now  and  then  a  bullet  whistled, 
Or  there  came  an  arrow  singing, 
Forth  from  out  the  darkened  forest. 


40  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

When  at  length  they  gained  the  summit, — 
All  together,  the  Illini, — 
Gave  a  mighty  yell  of  triumph, 
Which  was  answered  by  a  war  whoop, 
From  the  shadows  by  the  river: 

Safe  at  last!  For  who  could  reach  them, 
There  high  up  above  the  valley, 
Perched  like  eagles  in  an  eyry, 
Throned  like  Spirits  in  their  Cloudland? 

7. 

They  were  safe; — but  lo!  to  westward, 
Gleaming  through  the  dusk  of  nightfall, 
Sparks  of  fire  leaped  far  to  Heaven; 
Bursting  flames  shot  gleaming  upward; 
'Twas  their  village, — their  dear  homeland, 
In  the  grasp  of  the  pursuers. 

8. 

Wearied  with  their  tedious  journey, 
All  the  warriors  and  the  women, 
All  the  children  and  the  old  men, 
After  having  eaten  supper, 
Laid  them  down  to  rest,  save  only 
One  young  brave,  an  Indian  half-breed, 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  41 

Called  Le  Bel,  from  his  red  mother — 
Named  so  from  her  Frenchman  lover. 
He  had  joined  them  at  La  Ventum ; 
By  chance  had  come  up  there  before  them, 
Allured  there  by  a  maiden's  black  eye, 
A  Shawnee  maid  whose  village  slumbered, 
Some  few  miles  down  on  the  river; 
Half-breed  was  he,  yet  all  Indian, 
For  he  loved  his  mother's  people. 

9. 

All  the  rest  lay  down  to  slumber, 

Leaving  this  young  brave  to  guard  them ; 

As  they  slept,  the  only  noises 

Were  the  whisperings  of  the  breezes 

Through  the  spreading  cedar  branches, 

And  the  whippoorwills  a-calling, 

From  the  shadows  by  the  river. 

At  the  ending  of  the  pathway, 

By  the  cliff's  edge  sat  the  young  brave; 

In  his  hand  a  trusty  rifle; 

In  his  belt  a  keen-edged  dagger. 

Long  he  sat  there  like  a  statue, 

Hearing  not  a  sound  or  ripple, 

From  the  world  of  all  things  living. 

Mid  the  stillness  of  the  darkness, 

Soon  his  thoughts  went  down  the  river, — 


42  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

To  the  Shawnee  maiden's  wigwam; 
Floated  on  the  placid  current, 
Stopping  by  her  round  lithe  figure, 
Where  he  too  would  fain  be  resting. 
Held  there  by  her  radiant  glances; 
Lulled  by  her  inspired  caresses; 
Wooed  to  slumber  by  her  kisses. 

10. 

He  was  dreaming  Love's  fair  visions, 
In  the  face  of  gloom  and  danger, — 
For  of  all  moods  neath  the  Heavens, 
Love's  mood  is  the  most  heroic, — 
When  the  sudden  soft  low  rolling 
Of  a  stone  fell  on  his  hearing : 
Then  a  long  deep  silence  followed : 
All  alert,  he  pressed  him  forward, 
With  his  eyes  into  the  darkness. 
Swiftly  stepping  neath  a  cedar, 
Which  hung  o'er  the  gleaming  sand  cliff, 
At  the  turning  of  the  pathway, 
There  in  patience  then  he  waited: 

11. 

Soon  he  heard  a  something  moving, 

Quiet  as  a  shifting  shadow, 

Not  a  human  form  he  saw  there, — 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLJNI  43 

Just  a  motion  in  the  pathway, 
As  if  sand  were  coming  upward 
To  its  old  place  on  the  summit; 
There  was  movement;  then  a  silence; 
Then  again  a  faint  ground  swelling, 
In  the  winding  of  the  footpath ; 
Puzzled  somewhat,  still  he  waited, 
All  alert  with  unsheathed  dagger. 
From  the  place  where  he  was  stationed, 
One  short  bound  would  gain  the  summit; 
Suddenly  the  pathway  lifted, 
And  a  form  rose  from  the  darkness, 
Rose  and  showed  against  the  starlight 
A  hand  that  clenched  a  gleaming  dagger. 

12. 

Never  stirring;  never  breathing; 
Though  the  stranger  almost  touched  him, 
Stolid  stood  Le  Bel  one  instant, 
Till  the  stealthy  stranger  passed  him, 
Passed  a  step  or  two  beyond  him, 
Then  he  sprang  like  lightning  on  him ; 
With  one  hand  plunged  deep  his  dagger; 
With  the  other  hand  reached  forward, 
Groping  for  his  foeman's  weapon: 
'Neath  the  blue-black  of  the  midnight, 
Fiercely  fought  those  two  lone  foemen, — 


44  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

Fought  as  men  fight  for  existence. 
Back  and  forth  they  swayed  and  tottered; 
Gasped  for  breath  and  tugged  and  waited; 
Then  began  again,  while  ever 
Yawned  the  great  void  far  below  them, — 
Far  below  them  loomed  the  darkness. 
Gradually  the  wound  first  given, 
Told  upon  his  foe;  so,  rousing 
All  his  strength,  he  forced  the  stranger, 
Foot  by  foot  still  near  and  nearer 
To  the  cliff's  edge,  when  all  sudden, 
With  a  wrestler's  quick  maneuver 
Young  Le  Bel  then  gave  his  f  oeman, 
One  great  push  that  sent  him  headlong 
Downward,  downward  to  the  water; 
But  so  mighty  was  the  effort, 
O'er  the  brink  he  too  went  crashing, 
Downward  toward  the  yawning  river. 
But  his  fall  was  brief  and  broken; 
For  by  luck  a  scraggy  cedar 
Jutting  from  between  two  ledges 
Saved  him  just  in  time;  and  as  he 
Swung  himself  back  to  the  summit, 
From  below  a  great  splash  rose  up, 
Next  a  gurgle  from  the  river; 
Then  dropped  down  Night's  peaceful 
silence. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  45 

13. 

To  his  post  then  sprang  the  young  man; 

For  a  moment  he  was  tempted, 

To  arouse  the  weary  sleepers, 

But  on  waiting  for  a  minute, 

When  no  human  echoes  answered 

That  great  splashing  of  the  river, 

Then  he  knew  that  it  was  only, 

Some  young  brave  who  hoped  by  daring, 

To  acquire  a  chieftain's  title, 

With  the  midnight  shadows  round  him, 

Like  a  statue  still  unstirring, 

Sat  the  young  man  there  till  morning. 

14. 

Daybreak  came  and  looking  round  them, 
Lo!  they  saw  far  up  the  river, 
Large  canoes  containing  warriors; 
On  the  lowlands  they  saw  motion, 
Which  betokened  hasting  allies; 
Underneath  them  by  the  river, 
Every  space  could  show  a  wigwam. 
To  the  East  and  to  the  Southward, 
O'er  the  canyon  on  a  sand  cliff, 
Where  their  foes  could  watch  each  move- 
ment, 


46  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

To  the  mainland  there  behind  them, 

Warriors  waited  keen  and  eager; 

In  the  river  right  below  them; 

On  an  isle  shaped  like  an  arrow, 

Shone  the  campfires  of  the  allies, — 

Not  a  point  of  vantage  empty! 

Grave  grew  the  dark  brows  of  the  Elders, 

For  they  knew  the  situation, — 

They  could  read  its  grim  hard  meaning. 

But  the  children  and  the  young  men, 

Looking  downward  laughed  and  hooted, 

Making  faces  at  the  camp  fires; 

Cried  out:  Stay  there,  you  mud  turtles, 

Till  the  rising  waters  sweep  you 

Far  away  to  the  great  River, — 

You  are  stupid  ugly  cat-fish! 

15. 

Slowly  passed  the  days  in  waiting, 
With  no  sound  save  now  a  yelling, 
From  the  camp  fires  by  the  river, 
In  honor  of  some  new  arrival; 
Or  an  answer  of  defiance, 
From  the  rock  that  towered  skyward. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  47 

THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI. 

Canto  IV. 

There  upon  the  Rock's  high  summit: 
Lying  on  the  pleasant  grasses, 
Or  reclining  'neath  the  cedars, 
Chatting  gaily  with  the  maidens, 
All  the  thoughtless  younger  warriors 
Being  safe  and  feeling  valiant 
Taunted  still  the  poor  besiegers, 
Saying  they  were  wasting  labor. 
But  the  Elders  and  the  women, 
Looking  over  the  provisions, 
Feund  their  stock  was  low  and  scanty. 
Then  their  grave  eyes  grew  more  anxious, 
For  though  meat  and  meal  were  scanty, 
Though  the  river  flowed  beneath  them ; 
Making  pleasant  little  ripples, 
Not  a  drop  of  water  had  they. 

2. 

Water  they  must  have  and  quickly; — 
So  they  knew  but  knew  well,  likewise, 
Night  must  first  come  down  to  shield  them. 
Long  they  waited  for  the  darkness, — 
First  they  saw  the  Day's  glare  lessen; 


48  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

In  the  lowlands  to  the  Westward, 
Next  they  saw  the  river  shadows, 
Deepen  and  grow  dark  and  darker; 
As  the  sun  grew  large  and  golden; 
They  saw  it  rest  one  splendid  moment, 
Setting  on  the  western  hill  tops, 
In  the  midst  of  gorgeous  colors, 
And  then  vanish  like  a  monarch : 
They  saw  the  pink  light  of  the  sunset : 
Sink  behind  the  western  shadows; 
Watched  the  soft  green  of  the  meadows 
Slowly  change  its  blithesome  color; 
Heard  the  whipporwills  keep  calling, 
From  the  darkness  by  the  river. 
Then  they  saw  the  camp  fires  lighted, 
In  the  forests  all  around  them; 
While  above,  the  silver  star-light 
Glimmered  through  the  air  of  evening. 

3. 

As  they  waited,  from  their  number, 
Eight  young  warriors  were  selected; 
With  them  two  with  water  bottles, 
Made  of  tanned  skin  sewed  up  tightly: 
When  the  blackness  had  grown  blacker, 
Till  the  forests  merged  together, 
Making  all  the  world  one  shadow, 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  49 

Then  they  crept  down  slow  and  slower, — 
Silent  as  the  ghosts  of  dead  men; 
Noiselessly  they  reached  the  river, 
Filled  their  bags  and  turned  back  upward, 
When  a  yell  rang  from  the  silence, 
And  a  volley  lit  the  darkness ; — 
Breathless  watched  their  friends  above 

them, 

As  the  two  with  bags  came  straining 
Up  the  pathway  and  behind  them, 
Two  came  limping  slowly  onward; 
Two  came  bounding  up  exultant, 
But  the  other  two  lay  dying, 
Far  below  them  in  the  shadows, — 
Such  the  price  they  paid  for  water. 

4. 

The  first  night  passed  away  in  silence; 
Still  another  day  succeeded, 
And  another  day  came  and  vanished : 
Many  foes  had  flocked  around  them; 
Then  another  came  unbidden, — 
Cunning  as  a  creeping  serpent; 
Silent,  stealthy  as  a  panther; — 
It  was  Hunger, — the  fierce  Demon. 

5. 
Like  a  dry  wind,  it  came  o'er  them, 


SO  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

Parching  all  the  earth  and  heavens; 
They  grew  faint  and  weak  and  listless; 
Heavy  eyed  and  heavy  hearted ; 
In  their  veins,  a  sleepless  burning, 
As  if  many  nagging  devils, 
Were  at  work  upon  their  vitals. 
Of  the  corn-meal,  not  a  kernel; 
Of  their  deer-meat  not  a  morsel; 
Of  their  water  not  a  module. 
Then  they  seized  the  shrubs  and  bushes ; 
Split  the  tender  sprigs  half  open, — 
Chewed  them  till  they  could  not  swallow : 
How  they  cried  and  prayed  for  water! 
Calling  for  a  single  rain  drop : 
With  the  bright  blue  heavens  o'er  them, 
How  they  longed  to  see  the  black  clouds 
Come  up  o'er  the  western  hill  tops, 
For  they  knew  that  they  held  water; 
Meanwhile  still  the  placid  river 
Mocked  them  with  its  smiling  ripples. 

6. 

On  the  fifth  day  in  the  morning, 

Rose  the  mists  above  the  valley; 

Then  the  clouds  came  scudding  earthward, 

Till  the  whole  sky-dome  was  darkened ; 

Fell  a  light  and  gentle  tapping 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  51 

On  the  new  leaves  of  the  oak  trees : — 
When  the  rain  came  down  in  torents. 
Like  wild  things  they  leaped  to  meet  it; 
Opened  wide  their  mouths  to  catch  it; 
Snapped  at  it  like  dogs  in  autumn; 
Licked  the  rocks  where  it  had  fallen : 
Stripping  off  their  bits  of  clothing, 
They  let  their  thirsty  bodies  drink  it; 
Through  the  wet  grass  rolled  them  over, 
Thankful  for  its  happy  coming, — 
The  good  Rain, — their  benefactor. 
But  as  quick  as  they  had  risen, 
Soon  again  the  storm-clouds  vanished, — 
Flew  away  like  great  black  eagles, 
Leaving  skies  all  hot  above  them. 

7. 

Round  them  all  the  world  was  happy; 
Fish  leaped  darting  from  the  river; 
Merry  hunters  chased  the  red  deer 
Down  along  the  lowland  bottoms; 
Mild  eyed  ring-doves  cooed  above  them, 
While  below,  they  watched  the  white  buds 
Of  a  cherry  tree  whose  branches 
Flung  far  out  into  the  sunshine 
The  fragrance  of  a  thousand  blossoms ; 
Then  with  eyes  of  pain  and  fury 


52  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

They  saw  their  foes  at  ease  reclining, 
Gorged  to  slumber  by  their  feasting. 

8. 

Le  Bel,  the  young  brave,  had  a  sister, — 
Kiskilwasee,  the  Bright-eyed  One; 
Orbs  of  jet  and  cheeks  rose  ruddy, 
Like  good  bronze  that's  highly  polished. 
Gentle,  fawn-like  motions  had  she; 
Graceful  movements;  pleasant  smilings; 
Modest  winsome  maiden  manners : 
In  her  hands,  the  dimples  lingered; 
On  her  brow  lay  childhood's  freshness ; 
Round  her  breathed  the  bloom  of  flowers. 


9. 

In  her  brother's  first  love  making, 
Kiskilwasee  often  counselled, 
Showing  puzzles  to  the  young  man. 
Now  in  turn  he  gave  her  comfort ; 
Cheered  her  as  she  grew  despondent, — 
Told  her  that  perhaps  some  allies, 
Knitted  by  blood  ties  unto  them, 
Might  assist  them  in  their  trouble. 
For  the  maiden,  dull  with  hunger, 
Spite  of  all  would  grow  dejected. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  53 

As  she  heard  her  brother's  plannings, 
Kiskilwasee  only  smiled  then; 
Told  him  he  must  try  to  save  him 
For  the  sake  of  his  belowed  one; 
For  she  felt  that  she  would  never 
See  again  the  days  of  olden. 

10. 

Although  proudly  the  Illini, 
Silently  and  uncomplaining, 
Faced  their  grim  and  direful  fortune, 
Unrelenting  and  unswerving, 
Ruthlessly  their  doom  descended. 

11. 

One  by  one  they  all  grew  weaker; — 
First  the  children;  next  the  old  men; 
Then  the  women.   One  by  one — 
Beneath  the  trees,  a  little  pappoose, 
Powerless  for  speech  or  crying, 
Would  without  a  single  whimper 
Fold  its  tiny  hands  forever: 
Mothers  with  gaunt  haggard  faces 
Would  be  found  at  break  of  morning 
Dead  beside  their  dying  offspring; 
Old  men  who  had  once  been  famous 
For  a  hundred  deeds  of  valor, — 


54  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

Hardships  almost  past  the  telling, 
Would  lie  down  beneath  the  bushes 
And  give  their  last  breath  to  the  Spirit; 
At  the  ending  of  the  pathway 
Still  the  warriors  watched  and  waited; — 
Though  unfit  to  lift  a  weapon; 
Though  too  weak  to  pull  a  bow-string, 
From  behind  a  dozen  cedars 
Gleamed  the  shining  rifle  barrels, 
Ready  for  the  first  invader, 
While  to  help  keep  up  their  courage 
In  this  awful  stress  of  famine, 
Bravely,  feebly  spake  they,  saying : — 
We  are  men!    We  are  Illini! 

12. 

'Twas  the  sunset  of  the  twelfth  day, — 

Half  were  dead;  the  rest  were  dying; — 

By  the  maiden,  Kiskilwasee, 

Sat  Le  Bel,  her  faithful  brother, 

Gazing  on  his  sister's  features 

With  unutterable  anguish, 

With  a  pity  past  expression. 

Life,  the  Beautiful,  was  going 

Past  the  unreturning  sunset; 

All  the  things  that  they  had  dreamed  of; 

All  the  dreamings  they  had  lived  for; 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  55 

All  the  hopes  that  they  had  cherished, — 
All  were  gone  from  them  forever: 
Death's  grim  eyes  were  staring  at  them; 
Death's  cold  face  was  watching  o'er  them; 
Death's  long  bony  hand  seemed  itching 
For  the  chance  to  seize  and  rend  them. 

0  how  gracious,  precious  Life  seemed, 
Now  that  it  was  slipping  from  them ! 
Softly  whispered  Kiskilwasee; — 

1  would  like  to  live,  my  brother, 
Until  you  were  safe  and  happy: 
After  all,  this  earth  is  winsome, 
When  the  People  keep  peace  on  it. 
We  have  had  glad  days  together; 
For  so  much  at  least  I'm  grateful: 
If  you  live,  remember,  brother, 
That  your  Kiskilwasee  loved  you, — 
Blessed  you, — wished  you  all  good  fortune ! 

13. 

Death  is  life's  one  great  instructor; 
Teaching  tenderness  and  beauty; 
Opening  hearts  to  nobler  thinking; 
Bringing  subtler,  deeper  insight 
Into  mysteries  of  living; 
Smiting  Self  from  its  enthronement, 
Crowning  Love  with  wreaths  of  laurel. 


56  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

14. 

What  best  moves  both  men  and  heroes 

Are  the  mild  words  of  a  woman; — 

Strength  has  need  of  being  tender. 

When  her  brother  heard  the  praises, 

First  they  cut  him  like  an  arrow, 

Rankling  in  his  heart  a  little, — 

For  he  did  not  feel  deserving; 

(Merit  ever  is  unconscious.) 

Then  the  young  man  rose  up  slowly, 

Took  a  small  red  jug  of  pottery, 

Tied  around  with  thong  of  deer  skin; 

With  a  motion  to  his  sister, 

Which  she  answered  with  faint  smilings, 

Straight  he  walked  toward  the  cliff's  side, 

Where  it  hung  above  the  water; 

But  where  trees  and  bushes  fringed  it, 

Half  way  down  unto  the  river: 

Swinging  from  a  sturdy  pine  tree, 

Soon  he  reached  a  ledge  that  jutted 

Just  below  the  cliff's  true  summit; 

There  he  rested  for  a  moment, — 

Being  weak  with  weary  fasting, 

Gazing  at  the  space  below  him. 

Lo!  he  saw  there  by  the  river, 

Many  boats  but  not  a  warrior; 

Much  he  wondered;  long  he  lingered; 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  57 

Slowly  then  by  roots  and  bushes, 
Swinging  down,  now  low  and  lower, 
He  had  almost  reached  the  water, 
And  then  thinking  how  his  sister 
Would  rejoice  to  see  his  jug  full, 
When  a  war-whoop  sounded  o'er  him, 
Then  another  and  another, — 
Far  up  on  the  cliff's  high  summit. 
His  thin  blood  froze  up  within  him; 
Looking  down  at  the  canoes  there, 
Drawn  up  underneath  the  shadows, 
Then  he  understood  their  meaning: — 
All  was  over  now  forever — 
Naught  he  knew  could  save  his  people; 
For  their  swarming  foes  had  waited 
Until  they  were  weak  with  hunger, 
To  assault  and  over-power  them. 

15. 

Death  is  easier  than  living! — 
So  he  thought  as  high  above  him 
Once  again  the  yells  resounded, — 
'Twas  the  death-knell  of  a  nation. 
Le  Bel  began  to  clamber  upward, 
Back  to  where  he  had  descended, 
Hoping  he  might  save  his  sister, 
But,  alas,  his  weak  arms  failed  him; 


58  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

Though  he  strove  by  pulling,  hauling, 
To  regain  the  rocky  cliff -side, 
Time  and  time  again  he  stumbled, 
Till  he  saw  that  it  was  useless; 
Even  though  he  reached  the  summit 
He  was  powerless  to  aid  her, 
Having  neither  strength  nor  weapons. 

16. 

As  he  pondered  for  a  moment, 
Suddenly,  as  in  a  vision, 
Came  his  sweetheart's  face  before  him, 
Filling  all  his  soul  with  courage; 
Breathing  farewell  to  his  sister, 
Seizing  a  canoe,  he  launched  it 
On  the  placid  flowing  current; 
Close  beside  the  bank  he  kept  it, — 
Close  beneath  the  spreading  elm  trees, 
And  the  friendly  fringe  of  willows. 
Down  the  stream,  he  let  it  hurry, 
Dipping  very  soft  his  paddle, 
Now  and  then,  to  keep  it  headed 
Underneath  the  welcome  shadows, 
While  the  war-whoops  rang  behind  him. 
After  floating  for  a  little, 
Which  seemed  like  a  thousand  ages, 
Out  of  sound  and  sight  and  hearing 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  59 

Of  the  bloody  deeds  behind  him, 
With  his  arms  made  strong  and  wiry 
By  a  sudden  wondrous  spirit, 
Which  o'er-multiplied  his  courage, 
He  began  to  paddle  swiftly 
To  the  land  of  life  and  freedom. 

17. 

Guarded  by  some  happy  fortune, 

Guided  by  some  gracious  Spirit, 

'Twas  his  fate  to  reach  his  haven, 

Down  below  him  on  the  river, 

Where  his  sweetheart's  heart  was  waiting, 

To  the  village  of  the  Shawnees; 

And  in  time  also  by  fortune, 

He  secured  all  he  hoped  for, 

Both  the  maiden  and  a  wigwam, — 

Gaining  love  by  gift  of  loving. 

18. 

Meanwhile  on  the  Rock's  high  summit, 
Vengeance  dire  and  stern  was  doing, 
Just  as  if  the  great  Chiefs  spirit 
Had  descended  for  a  season 
To  inspire  his  friends  and  kinsmen : 
Raising  high  their  red  stone  axes ; 
Lifting  up  their  bloody  daggers, 


60  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

There  upon  the  Rock's  high  summit, 
To  the  stars  that  glittered  o'er  them, 
This  the  song  those  warriors  chanted : — 

Hear  us,  Kinsman, 

Mighty  Chieftain! 
Best  and  greatest  of  thy  people: 
See  the  gifts  we  pour  out  for  thee; 
Hear  the  groans  we  raise  up  to  thee; 
Watch  the  blood  that  flows  like  water: 
Know,  O  Chieftain,  mighty  warrior, 
That  the  Spirit  of  the  war-path 
Smiles  upon  our  deeds  of  vengeance, 
And  that  o'er  thy  honored  body 
All  the  earth  is  showering  blessings; — 

Hear  us,  Kinsman, 

Mighty  Chief  tain! 
Best  and  greatest  of  thy  people; 
Now  thy  death  has  been  avenged ! 


19. 

There  among  the  spreading  cedars, 
In  the  darkened  twilight  shadows, 
Far  above  the  placid  river, 
This  victorious  song  was  chanted ; — 
Thus  was  Pontiac's  death  atoned  for. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  61 

20. 

Passed  and  gone,  in  silence  vanished 
Are  the  Redman's  days  of  splendor; — 
Passed  like  golden  leaves  of  autumn; 
Gone  like  Springtime's  fragile  beauty; 
Fled  like  flowers  at  touch  of  winter. 
Yet  the  leaves  still  whisper  of  them; 
Still  the  oak  trees  chant  their  death  songs ; 
Still  the  grasses  keep  their  graves  green; 
While  the  Earth, — all  gracious  Mother, — 
Hides  their  bones  from  glare  of  sunlight; 
Since  all  Nature  feels  a  kindness 
For  the  deeds  and  deaths  of  heroes. 


NOTES 

TO 
CANTO  I. 

NOTE  1. 

"O'er  the  prairies  hunted  bison." 
One  of  the  common  modes  of  killing  the 
buffalo,  practiced  by  the  Illinois  and  other 
tribes  of  the  West,  was  to  drive  them  head- 
long over  the  precipitous  banks  of  rivers. 

Buffalo  Rock,  a  large  promontory  rising 
fifty  or  sixty  feet  high,  on  the  North  side  of 


62  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

the  Illinois  river,  six  miles  below  Ottawa,  is 
said  to  have  derived  its  name  from  this 
practice. — Davidson  and  Stuve's  History  of 
Illinois. 


NOTE  2. 

"Held  their  festival  and  corn  dance." 
The  green  corn  dance  is  thus  described  by 
Catlin:— 

When  the  doctors  have  decided  that  the 
corn  will  do,  criers  are  sent  through  the 
village  saying  that  the  Great  Spirit  has 
been  kind  to  them,  that  all  must  empty  their 
stomachs  and  prepare  for  the  coming  feast. 

On  the  day  appointed  a  kettle  is  hung 
over  a  fire  and  filled  with  green  corn  which 
is  well  boiled,  as  a  present  to  the  Great 
Spirit.  While  this  first  kettle  is  boiling,  four 
medicine  men,  with  a  stalk  of  corn  in  one 
hand  and  a  rattle  in  the  other,  with  their 
bodies  painted  with  white  clay,  dance 
around  the  kettle,  chanting  a  hymn  to  the 
Great  Spirit.  At  the  same  time  a  number 
of  warriors  are  dancing  around  in  a  larger 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  63 

circle,  holding  stalks  of  corn  in  their  hands, 
while  the  villagers  look  on. 

During  this  scene  a  lot  of  wooden  bowls 
are  arranged  on  the  ground,  each  contain- 
ing a  spoon  of  buffalo  or  mountain  sheep's 
horn. 

When  the  doctors  decide  the  corn  is  boiled, 
it  it  taken  out  and  placed  on  a  scaffold  of 
sticks  above  the  fire,  where  it  is  then  al- 
lowed to  burn  up  while  the  dance  goes  on. 
Next  the  fire  and  ashes  are  removed,  and  a 
second  fire  made  by  friction,  built  on  the 
same  spot,  and  another  kettle  full  of  corn 
is  boiled  for  the  chiefs  and  medicine  men. 
After  this,  unlimited  license  is  given  to  the 
whole  tribe  to  boil  and  eat  corn  until  the 
fields  are  exhausted." — See  Catlin,  Vol.  I, 
pp.  189-190. 

NOTE  3. 

"Played  at  ball  for  sport  and  pastime." 
The  national  game  of  nearly  all  Indian 

tribes  was  the  game  of  LaCrosse  or  Bagga- 

tiway. 
At  the  end  of  the  stick  was  a  netting  of 

catgut,  in  which  they  caught  and  from 

which  they  threw  the  ball,  but  this  netting 


64  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

was  much  smaller  than  in  the  modern  La- 
Crosse  stick. 

In  the  Chippewa  or  Ojibway  tongue,  this 
game  is  called  Bang-ah-ud-o-way.  It  is  thus 
described  by  William  W.  Warren,  who  on 
the  maternal  side  had  Ojibway  blood  in  his 
veins: — 

"This  game  is  played  with  a  bat  and  a 
wooden  ball.  The  bat  is  about  four  feet 
long,  trimmed  at  one  end  into  a  circular 
curve,  which  is  netted  with  leather  strings, 
and  forms  a  cavity  where  the  ball  is  caught, 
carried,  and,  if  necessary,  thrown  with 
great  force  to  treble  the  distance  that  it  can 
be  thrown  by  hand." 

Catlin  (in  Vol.  II,  page  124)  gives  the 
following  account  of  an  Indian  game  of  ball 
as  played  by  the  Choctaws: 

"Monday  afternoon  at  three  o'clock,  I 
rode  out  with  Lieutenants  S.  and  M.  to  a 
very  pretty  prairie,  about  six  miles  distant, 
to  the  ball  playground  of  the  Choctaws, 
where  we  found  several  thousand  Indians 
encamped. 

There  were  two  points  of  timber  about 
half  a  mile  apart,  in  which  the  two  parties 
for  the  play,  with  their  respective  families 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  65 

and  friends,  were  encamped,  and  lying  be- 
tween them,  the  prairie  on  which  the  game 
was  to  be  played.  .  .  .  Each  party  had 
their  goal  made  with  two  upright  posts, 
about  25  feet  high  and  6  feet  apart,  set 
firmly  in  the  ground,  with  a  pole  across  the 
top. 

These  goals  were  about  forty  or  fifty 
rods  apart,  and  at  a  point  just  half  way 
between  was  another  small  stake  driven 
down,  where  the  ball  was  to  be  thrown  up 
at  the  firing  of  a  gun,  to  be  struggled  for 
by  the  players. 

All  this  preparation  was  made  by  some 
old  men,  who  were,  it  seems,  selected  to  be 
the  judges  of  the  play,  who  drew  a  line  (on 
the  sides  of  the  field)  from  one  bye  to  the 
other,  to  which  directly  came  from  the 
woods  on  both  sides  a  great  concourse  of 
women  and  old  men,  boys  and  girls  and 
dogs  and  horses,  where  bets  were  to  be 
made  in  the  play. 

The  sticks  with  which  this  tribe  play  are 
bent  into  an  oblong  hoop  at  the  end,  with  a 
sort  of  slight  web  of  small  deer  thong  tied 
across,  to  prevent  the  ball  from  passing 
through. 

The  players  hold  one  of  these  in  each 


66  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

hand,  and  by  leaping  into  the  air,  they  catch 
the  ball  between  the  two  nettings  and  throw 
it,  without  being  allowed  to  strike  it  or 
catch  it  in  their  hands.  .  .  . 

In  every  ball  play  of  these  people  it  is  a 
rule  of  the  play  that  no  man  shall  wear  moc- 
casins on  his  feet  or  any  other  dress  than 
his  breech  cloth  around  his  waist,  with  a 
beautiful  bead  belt  and  "a  tail"  made  of 
white  horse  hair  or  quills  and  a  "mane"  on 
the  neck,  of  horsehair  dyed  of  various 
colors. 

This  game  had  been  arranged  and  "made 
up"  three  or  four  months  before  the  parties 
met  to  play  it,  and  in  the  following  manner: 

The  two  champions,  who  led  the  two 
parties,  and  had  the  alternate  choosing  of 
the  players  through  the  whole  tribe,  sent 
runners  with  the  ball  sticks  most  fantas- 
tically ornamented  with  ribbons  and  red 
paint,  to  be  touched  by  each  one  of  the 
chosen  players,  who  thereby  agreed  to  be 
on  the  spot  at  the  appointed  time  and  ready 
for  the  play. 

The  ground  having  been  all  prepared  and 
the  preliminaries  of  the  game  settled,  and 
the  bettings  all  made,  and  goods  all 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  67 

"staked,"  night  came  on  without  the  ap- 
pearance of  any  players  on  the  ground,  but 
soon  after  dark  a  procession  of  lighted 
flambeaux  was  seen  coming  from  each  en- 
campment, to  the  ground  where  the  players 
assembled  around  their  respective  byes, 
and  at  the  beat  of  the  drums  and  chants  of 
the  women,  each  party  commenced  the  ball 
play  dance. 

Each  party  danced  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
around  their  respective  byes,  in  their  ball 
play  dress,  rattling  their  ball  sticks  together 
in  the  most  violent  manner,  and  all  singing 
as  loud  as  they  could  raise  their  voices, 
while  the  women  of  the  party,  who  had 
their  goods  at  stake,  formed  into  two  rows 
on  the  line  between  the  two  parties  of 
players,  and  danced  also,  in  a  uniform  step, 
and  all  the  voices  joined  in  chants  to  the 
Great  Spirit,  in  which  they  were  soliciting 
His  favor  in  deciding  the  game  to  their  ad- 
vantage, and  also  encouraging  the  players 
to  exert  every  power  they  possessed  in  the 
struggle  that  was  to  ensue. 

In  the  mean  time,  four  old  medicine  men, 
who  were  to  have  the  starting  of  the  ball, 
and  who  were  to  be  judges  of  the  play,  were 


68  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

seated  at  a  point  where  the  ball  was  to  be 
started,  and  busily  smoking  to  the  Great 
Spirit  for  their  success  in  judging  rightly 
and  impartially  between  the  parties  in  so 
important  an  affair. 

This  dance  was  one  of  the  most  pic- 
turesque scenes  imaginable,  and  was  re- 
peated at  intervals  of  every  half  hour  dur- 
ing the  night,  and  exactly  in  the  same 
manner,  so  that  the  players  were  certainly 
awake  all  the  night,  and  arrayed  in  their 
appropriate  dress,  prepared  for  the  play 
which  was  to  commence  at  nine  o'clock  the 
next  morning. 

In  the  morning  at  the  hour,  the  two 
parties  and  all  their  friends  were  drawn  out 
and  over  the  ground,  when  the  game  com- 
menced by  the  judges  throwing  up  the  ball 
at  the  firing  of  a  gun,  when  an  instant 
struggle  ensued  between  the  players,  who 
were  some  six  or  seven  hundred  in  number, 
and  who  were  endeavoring  to  catch  the  ball 
in  their  sticks  and  throw  it  home  and  be- 
tween their  respective  stakes,  which  when 
successfully  done  counts  one  for  game. 

In  this  game  every  player  is  dressed 
alike,  that  is,  divested  of  all  dress,  except 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  69 

girdle  and  tail,  which  I  have  before  de- 
scribed, and  in  these  desperate  struggles  for 
the  ball  when  it  is  up  .  .  .  there  are 
rapid  successions  of  feats  and  incidents 
that  astonish  and  amuse,  far  beyond  the 
conception  of  any  one  who  has  not  had  the 
singular  good  luck  to  witness  them. 

For  each  time  that  the  ball  has  passed 
between  the  stakes  of  either  party,  one  was 
counted  for  their  game,  and  a  halt  of  about 
one  minute,  when  it  was  again  started  by 
the  judges  of  the  play,  and  a  similar 
struggle  ensued,  and  so  on  until  the  suc- 
cessful party  arrived  to  100,  which  was  the 
limit  of  the  game." — Catlin,  Vol.  11,  pp.  124 
to  126. 

Note  4. 

"The  Illini— first  of  all  men." 

Illini  is  a  French  corruption  of  the  Algon- 
quin words  "in"  and  "nini,"  meaning  "the 
man,"  Latin  vir.,  equivalent  to  our  modern 
slang  phrase,  "we,  the  people,"  as  if  there 
were  no  other  people. 

The  main  tribe  of  Illinois  Indians  were 
the  Kaskaskias. 

"This  is  the  name  of  the  tribe  that  for- 
merly occupied,  and  of  course  owned,  a  vast 


70  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

tract  of  country  lying  on  the  east  of  the 
Mississippi  .  .  .  and  now  forming  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  great  and  popu- 
lous state  of  Illinois. 

Perhaps  there  has  been  no  other  tribe  on 
the  continent  of  equal  power  with  the  Kas- 
kaskias,  that  have  so  suddenly  sunk  down 
to  complete  annihilation  and  disappeared. 
The  remnant  of  this  tribe  have  long  since 
merged  into  the  tribe  of  Peorias  of  Illinois, 
and  it  is  doubtful  if  one  dozen  of  them  are 
now  existing. 

With  the  very  few  remnants  of  this  tribe 
will  die  in  a  few  years  a  beautiful  language, 
entirely  distinct  from  all  others  about  it, 
unless  some  enthusiastic  person  may  pre- 
serve it  from  the  lips  of  the  few  who  are 
yet  able  to  speak  it." — Catlin :  N.  A.  Indians. 
Vol.  II,  p.  100. 

"From  the  East  the  fierce  Five  Nations." 

The  Iroquois 
Oneidas 
Senecas 
Onondagas 
Cayugas 
Mohawks 

"In  1712  they  were  joined  by  the  Tusca- 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLJNI  71 

roras  from  North  Carolina,  who  constituted 
the  sixth  member  of  the  confederacy." 

"All  the  mighty  concerns  of  the  Iroquois 
were  the  subject  of  full  deliberation,  in 
open  council,  and  their  diplomatic  negotia- 
tions were  managed  with  consummate  skill. 
When  the  question  of  peace  or  war  was  de- 
cided, the  counsellors  united  in  chanting 
hymns  of  praise  or  warlike  choruses,  which 
at  the  same  time  gave  expression  to  the 
public  feeling,  and  imparted  a  kind  of  nat- 
ural sanctity  to  the  act.  The  majority  of 
those  who  have  given  their  attention  to  Iro- 
quois history,  have  recognized  in  their  pub- 
lic acts  the  germs  of  a  national  policy  which 
would  have  been  characterized  by  greater 
subtlety  and  strength  than  that  of  the 
Aztecs  under  Montezuma  or  of  the  Peruv- 
ians under  Atahualpa." — Schoolcraf  t : — 
Archives  of  Aboriginal  Knowledge,  Vol.  VI, 
p.  189. 

"Their  great  men,  both  sachems  and  cap- 
tains, are  generally  poorer  than  the  com- 
mon people,  for  they  effect  to  give  away 
and  distribute  all  the  presents  or  plunder 
they  get  in  their  treaties,  or  in  war,  so  as  to 
leave  nothing  to  themselves. 


72  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

There  is  not  a  man  in  the  Magistracy  of 
the  Five  Nations  who  has  gained  his  office 
otherwise  than  by  merit;  there  is  not  the 
least  salary,  or  any  sort  of  profit,  annexed 
to  any  office,  to  tempt  the  covetous  and 
sordid,  but  on  the  contrary,  every  unworthy 
action  is  unavoidably  attended  with  the 
forfeiture  of  their  commission,  for  their 
authority  is  only  the  esteem  of  the  people, 
and  ceases  the  moment  that  that  esteem  is 
lost. 

Here  we  see  the  natural  origin  of  all 
power  and  authority  among  a  free  people." 
— Golden: — History  of  the  Iroquois. 

Note  6. 

"Father  Marquette,  mild  voiced 
preacher." 

"Joliet,  the  youthful  trader." 

"Marquette  was  born  in  1637,  of  an  old 
and  honorable  family  at  Laon,  in  the  north 
of  France,  and  was  now  (1673)  thirty-five 
years  of  age.  When  about  seventeen  he  had 
joined  the  Jesuits,  evidently  from  motives 
purely  religious,  and  in  1666  he  was  sent  to 
the  missions  of  Canada." 

.  .  .  Louis  Joliet  was  the  son  of  a 
wagon  maker  in  the  service  of  the  Hundred 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  73 

Associates,  then  owners  of  Canada.  He 
was  born  at  Quebec  in  1645,  and  was  edu- 
cated by  the  Jesuits.  When  still  very  young 
he  resolved  to  be  a  priest.  He  received  the 
tonsure  and  the  minor  orders  at  the  age  of 
seventeen.  Four  years  after,  he  is  men- 
tioned with  especial  honor  for  the  part  he 
bore  in  the  disputes  in  philosophy,  at  which 
the  dignitaries  of  the  colony  were  present, 
and  in  which  the  Intendent  himself  took 
part. 

Not  long  after,  he  renounced  his  clerical 
vocation  and  turned  fur  trader.  .  .  In 
what  we  know  of  Joliet,  there  is  nothing 
that  reveals  any  salient  or  distinctive  trait 
of  character,  any  especial  breadth  of  view 
or  boldness  of  design.  He  appears  to  have 
been  simply  a  merchant,  intelligent,  well 
educated,  courageous,  hardy  and  enter- 
prising."— Parkman: — LaSalle  and  Discov- 
ery of  the  Great  West,  pages  48-49. 

Note  7. 

"Bold  LaSalle  and  Noble  Tonty." 
Parkman  thus  describes  LaSalle's  char- 
acter:— 

"Serious  in  all  things,  incapable  of  the 
lighter  pleasures,  incapable  of  repose,  find- 


74  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

ing  no  joy  but  in  the  pursuit  of  great  de- 
signs, too  shy  for  society  and  too  reserved 
for  popularity,  often  unsympathetic,  and 
always  seeming  so,  smothering  emotions 
which  he  could  not  utter,  schooled  to  uni- 
versal distrust,  stern  to  his  followers,  and 
pitiless  to  himself,  bearing  the  brunt  of 
every  hardship  and  every  danger,  demand- 
ing of  others  an  implied  deference,  heeding 
no  counsel  but  his  own,  attempting  the  im- 
possible, and  grasping  at  what  was  too  vast 
to  hold,  he  contained  in  his  own  complex 
and  painful  nature  the  chief  springs  of  his 
triumphs,  his  failures,  and  his  death." — 
LaSalle  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Great 
West,  p.  407. 

Parkman  in  a  note  on  page  441  of  his 
LaSalle  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Great 
West,  gives  the  following  account  of  Tonty: 

"The  missionary,  St.  Cosine,  who  traveled 
under  his  escort  in  1699,  says  of  him,  'He  is 
beloved  by  all  the  voyageurs.  .  .  It  was 
with  deep  regret  that  we  parted  from  him. 
He  is  a  man  who  best  knows  the  country; 
he  is  loved  and  feared  everywhere/ ' 

Note  8. 
"Pontiac,  the  far  famed  chieftain." 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  75 

Parkman  thus  describes  Pontiac:  "Pon- 
tiac  was  principal  chief  of  the  Ottawas. 
The  Ottawas,  Ojibways,  and  Pottawatomes 
had  long  been  united  in  a  loose  kind  of  con- 
federacy, of  which  he  was  the  virtual  head. 
Over  those  around  him  his  authority  was 
almost  despotic,  and  his  power  extended 
far  beyond  the  limits  of  the  three  united 
tribes.  His  influence  was  great  among  all 
the  nations  of  the  Illinois  Country,  while 
from  the  sources  of  the  Ohio  to  those  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  indeed  to  the  farthest 
boundaries  of  the  widespread  Algonquin 
race,  his  name  was  known  and  respected. 

The  fact  that  Pontiac  was  born  the  son 
of  a  chief  would  in  no  degree  account  for 
the  extent  of  his  power,  for  among  Indians, 
many  a  chief's  son  sinks  back  into  insig- 
nificance, while  the  offspring  of  a  common 
warrior  may  succeed  to  his  place. 

Among  all  the  wild  tribes  of  the  conti- 
nent, personal  merit  is  indispensable  to 
gaining  or  preserving  dignity.  Courage, 
resolution,  address,  and  eloquence,  are  sure 
passports  to  distinction. 

With  all  these  Pontiac  was  pre-eminently 
endowed,  and  it  was  chiefly  to  them,  urged 


76  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

to  their  highest  activity  by  a  vehement  am- 
bition, that  he  owed  his  greatness.  He  pos- 
sessed a  commanding  energy  and  force  of 
mind,  and  in  subtlety  and  craft  could  match 
the  best  of  his  wily  race." — Conspiracy  of 
Pontiac,  Vol.  I,  pp.  182-3. 

Note  9. 

"Save  as  member  of  the  Metai." 
Metai  and  Me-da-we  is  thus  mentioned 
by  Wm.  W.  Warren,  of  the  Warren  family 
of  Massachusetts,  who  had  Ojibway  blood  in 
his  veins: — 

"The  grand  rite  of  Me-da-we-win  (or  as 
we  have  learned  to  term  it,  Grand  Medi- 
cine) and  beliefs  incorporated  therein,  are 
not  fully  understood  by  the  whites.  This 
important  custom  is  still  shrouded  in  mys- 
tery, even  to  my  own  eyes,  though  I  have 
taken  much,  much  pains  to  inquire,  and 
made  use  of  every  advantage,  possessed  by 
speaking  their  language  perfectly,  being 
related  to  them,  possessing  their  friendship 
and  intimate  confidence,  has  given  me,  and 
yet  I  frankly  acknowledge  that  I  stand  as 
yet,  as  it  were,  on  the  threshold  of  the 
Medawe  lodge.  Among  the  Ojibways,  the 
secrets  of  this  grand  rite  are  as  sacredly 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  77 

kept  as  the  secrets  of  the  Masonic  Lodge 
among  the  whites. 

Fear  of  threatened  or  certain  death, 
either  by  poison  or  violence,  seals  the  lips 
of  the  Me-da-we  institute,  and  this  is  the 
patent  reason  why  it  is  still  a  secret  to  the 
white  man,  and  why  it  is  not  more  generally 
understood.  .  .  In  the  Me-da-we  rite  is 
incorporated  most  that  is  ancient  among 
them,  songs  and  traditions  that  have  been 
descended,  not  orally,  but  in  hieroglyphics, 
for  at  least  a  long  line  of  generations. 

In  this  rite  is  perpetuated  the  purest  and 
most  ancient  idioms  of  their  language, 
which  differs  somewhat  from  that  of  the 
common  every  day  use.  .  . 

They  assert  that  the  Me-da-we  rite  was 
granted  them  by  the  Great  Spirit  in  a  time 
of  trouble  and  death,  through  the  inter- 
cession of  Man-ah-asho,  the  universal  uncle 
of  An-ish-in-aubag. 

Certain  rules  to  guide  their  course  in  life 
were  given  them  at  the  same  time,  and  are 
represented  in  hieroglyphics. 

These  great  rules  of  life,  which  the  writ- 
er has  often  heard  inculcated  by  the  Me- 
dawe  initiations  in  their  secret  teaching  to 


78  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

their  novices,  bear  a  strong  likeness  to  the 
ten  commandments,  revealed  by  the  Al- 
mighty to  the  Children  of  Israel." 

— Minnesota  History  Soc.  Coll. 
Vol.  V,  p.  67. 

Note  10. 

"Or  the  fighting,  wild  Docotahs." 
The  Docotah  or  Sioux  Indians  are  per- 
haps the  hardiest  of  all  the  Indian  tribes. 
Living  in  a  cold  country,  they  were  obliged 
to  be  alert  and  active  in  order  to  live.  Be- 
sides being  very  strong  and  active,  their 
morals  were  of  a  high  order.  A  United 
States  private  soldier,  who  had  been  sta- 
tioned for  many  years  in  the  country  of  the 
Sioux,  told  me  in  the  course  of  a  long,  pri- 
vate conversation,  that  the  United  States 
soldiers  never  dared  to  make  love  to  Sioux 
girls, — that  whenever  any  of  the  boys  were 
so  reckless  as  to  attempt  it,  he  took  his  life 
in  his  hands,  and  not  infrequently  lost  his 
life  in  the  attempt. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  79 

NOTES 

TO 
CANTO  II. 

Note  1. 

"At  the  Village  Cahokia." 

Cahokia  was  one  of  the  principal  French 
villages  in  Illinois  in  1763.  Vincennes  and 
Kaskaskia  were  the  others.  Kaskaskia  was 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river.  Ca- 
hokia was  nearly  opposite  St.  Louis. 

Note  2. 

"To  the  meeting  of  his  clansmen." 
Warriors  often  traveled  hundreds  of 
miles  to  attend  an  important  meeting.  In 
1900  two  Indian  Chiefs  from  Old  Town, 
Maine,  made  a  journey  by  canoe,  to  Wash- 
ington City  and  return,  to  see  the  Great 
Father. 

Note  3. 

"You  know  I  sent  to  our  French  Father." 
In  a  speech  to  some  Canadian  French  dur- 
ing the  siege  of  Detroit  in  June,  1763,  Pon- 
tiac  used  the  following  language: — 

"I  am  the  same  French  Pontiac  who  as- 
sisted you  seventeen  years  ago.  I  am  a 


80  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

Frenchman,  and  I  wish  to  die  a  French- 
man." 

Note  4. 

"When  the  wampum  belts  are  ready." 
In  ancient  times  it  (wampum)  consisted 
of  small  shells  or  fragments  of  shells  rudely 
perforated  and  strung  together;  but  more 
recently  it  was  manufactured  by  the  white 
man  from  marine  or  fresh  water  shells.  An 
Indian  orator  at  every  pause  of  his  speech, 
delivered  a  belt  or  string  of  wampum,  vary- 
ing in  sizes,  according  to  the  importance  of 
what  he  had  said,  and  by  its  figures  and  col- 
oring, so  arranged  as  to  perpetuate  the  re- 
membrance of  his  words.  These  belts  were 
carefully  stored  up,  like  written  documents, 
and  it  was  generally  the  office  of  some  old 
man  to  interpret  their  meaning." 

Note  5. 

"Chanting  medicine  and  war  songs." 
It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  even 
great  war  chiefs  like  Pontiac,  in  order  to 
increase  their  power,  cultivated  the  char- 
acter of  a  medicine  man  as  zealously  as  they 
did  that  of  a  warrior.  Sitting  Bull  is  an 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  81 

example  in  recent  years  of  an  Indian  per- 
sonally a  coward,  who  by  his  cunning, 
gained  great  influence  over  his  fellows, 
through  his  claim  to  being  a  Great  Medi- 
cine man. 

Note  6. 

"Calling  with  loud  cries,  the  elders 

To  deliver  up  the  traitor." 

Indian  custom  made  it  obligatory  upon 
the  relatives  and  friends  of  a  murdered 
man  to  gain  vengeance.  It  was  supposed 
that  the  ghost  of  the  deceased  could  not 
rest  until  he  had  been  avenged. 

Note  7. 

"After  the  Illini  blood  law." 

When  a  murder  was  committed  among 
the  Indians,  satisfaction  might  be  made  by 
payment  of  goods  to  the  dead  man's  rela- 
tives, or  by  the  sacrifice  of  life  for  life.  If 
the  murderer  did  not  give  himself  up,  one 
of  his  relations  or  tribesmen  were  required 
to  do  so.  The  money  payment  was  often 
favored  by  the  older  chiefs,  because  it  pre- 
vented feuds.  A  graphic  account  of  an  ex- 
piation when  the  murderer  gave  himself 


82  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

up,  is  thus  described  in  Gurdon  Hubbard's 
Life,  pages  62  to  66.  Being  the  account  of 
an  eye  witness  it  has  historic  value.  The 
account  is  as  follows: 

"We  progressed  leisurely  into  the  mouth 
of  the  St.  Joseph  river,  where  we  were 
encamped  for  several  days,  and  were  joined 
by  the  traders  from  that  river.  We  reached 
Grand  river  early  in  May  (1819)  and  sought 
a  good  camping  place  up  the  river,  some  dis- 
tance from  the  Indian  camps. 

The  'Feast  of  the  Dead*  had  commenced, 
and  many  Indians  had  already  arrived,  and 
for  five  or  six  days  we  were  witnesses  to 
their  strange,  yet  solemn  ceremonies. 

One  evening  at  the  close  of  the  feast  we 
were  informed  that  an  Indian,  who  the  fall 
previous,  in  a  drunken  quarrel,  had  killed 
one  of  the  sons  of  a  chief  of  the  Manistee 
band,  would  on  the  morrow  deliver  himself 
up  to  suffer  the  penalty  of  his  crime  accord- 
ing to  the  Indian  custom. 

We  gave  but  little  credence  to  the  ru- 
mor, though  the  Indians  seemed  much  ex- 
cited over  it.  On  the  following  day,  how- 
ever, the  rumor  proved  true,  and  I  wit- 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  83 

nessed  the  grandest,  most  thrilling  incident 
of  my  life. 

The  murderer  was  a  Canadian  Indian,  and 
had  no  blood  relatives  among  the  Maniteis, 
but  had,  by  invitation,  returned  with  some 
of  the  tribe  from  Maldin,  where  they  had 
received  their  annuities  from  the  English 
government,  and  falling  in  love  with  a  Man- 
istie  maiden,  had  married  her  and  settled 
among  them,  agreeing  to  become  one  of 
their  tribe. 

As  was  customary,  all  his  earnings  from 
hunting  and  trapping,  belonged  to  his 
father-in-law  until  the  birth  of  his  first 
child,  after  which  he  commanded  his  time, 
and  could  use  his  gains  for  the  benefit  of 
his  family. 

At  the  time  of  the  killing  of  the  Chief's 
son  he  had  several  children  and  was  very 
poor,  possessing  nothing  but  his  meagre 
wearing  apparel,  and  a  few  traps.  He  was 
a  fair  hunter,  but  more  proficient  as  a 
trapper. 

Knowing  that  his  life  would  be  taken  un- 
less he  could  rescue  it  with  furs  and  articles 
of  value,  after  consulting  with  his  wife,  he 
determined  to  depart  at  night  in  a  canoe 


84  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

with  his  family,  and  secretly  make  his  way 
to  the  marshes  at  the  head  waters  of  the 
Muskegon  river,  where  he  had  before 
trapped  successfully,  and  there  endeavor 
to  catch  beaver,  mink,  marten  and  other 
fine  furs,  which  were  unusually  abundant, 
and  return  in  the  spring  and  satisfy  the  de- 
mands of  the  Chief. 

As,  according  to  custom,  if  he  failed  to 
satisfy  the  Chief  and  family  of  the  mur- 
dered man,  either  by  ransom  or  a  sacrifice 
of  his  own  life,  they  could  demand  of  his 
wife's  brothers  what  he  had  failed  to  give, 
he  consulted  with  one  of  them,  and  told 
him  of  his  purpose,  and  designated  a  par- 
ticular location  on  the  Muskegon,  where 
he  could  be  found  if  it  became  necessary  to 
return  and  deliver  himself  up. 

Having  completed  his  arrangements,  he 
made  his  escape  and  arrived  safely  at  the 
place  of  destination,  and  having  but  few 
traps,  and  but  a  small  supply  of  ammuni- 
tion, he  arranged  dead-fall  traps  in  a  cir- 
cuit around  his  camp,  hoping  with  them 
and  his  few  traps  to  have  a  successful  win- 
ter, and  by  spring  to  secure  enough  to  save 
his  life. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  85 

After  the  burial  of  his  son,  the  Chief 
took  council  with  his  other  sons  as  to  what 
they  should  do  to  revenge  the  dead,  and  as 
they  knew  the  murderer  was  too  poor  to  pay 
their  demands,  they  determined  upon  his 
death,  and  set  about  finding  him.  Being 
disappointed  in  this,  they  made  a  demand 
upon  the  brothers  of  his  wife,  who  know- 
ing that  they  could  not  satisfy  his  claims, 
counselled  together  as  to  what  course  to 
pursue,  all  but  one  of  them  believing  that 
he  had  fled  to  Canada. 

The  younger  brother,  knowing  his  where- 
abouts, sent  word  to  the  chief  that  he  would 
go  in  search  of  the  murderer,  and  if  he 
failed  to  produce  him,  would  himself  give 
his  own  life  in  his  stead. 

This  being  acceptable,  without  divulging 
the  secret  of  his  brother-in-law's  hiding 
place,  he  started  to  find  him.  It  was  a  long 
and  difficult  journey,  as  he  had  no  land 
marks  to  go  by,  and  only  knew  that  he 
should  find  his  brother-in-law  on  the  head 
water  of  the  Muskegon,  which  he  finally  did. 

The  winter  had  been  one  of  unusually 
deep  snow,  and  the  spring  of  great  floods, 
which  had  inundated  the  country  where  he 


86  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

was.  The  bear  had  kept  their  dens,  and  for 
some  reason  the  marten,  beaver  and  mink 
had  not  been  found,  so  that  when  their 
brother-in-law  reached  them,  he  and  his 
family  were  almost  perishing  from  starva- 
tion, and  his  winter's  hunt  had  proved  un- 
successful. 

They  accordingly  descended  together  to 
the  main  river,  where  the  brother  left  them 
for  his  return  home,  it  being  agreed  be- 
tween them  that  the  murderer  himself 
would  report  at  the  mouth  of  the  Grand 
River  during  the  "Feast  of  the  Dead," 
which  promise  he  faithfully  performed. 

Soon  after  sunrise  the  news  spread 
through  the  camp  that  he  was  coming.  The 
Chief  hastily  selected  a  spot  in  a  valley  be- 
tween two  sand  hills,  in  which  he  placed 
himself  and  family  in  readiness  to  receive 
him,  while  we  traders,  together  with  the 
Indians,  sought  the  surrounding  sand  hills, 
that  we  might  have  a  good  opportunity  to 
witness  all  that  might  occur.  Presently  we 
heard  the  monotonous  thump  of  the  Indian 
drum,  and  soon  thereafter,  the  mournful 
voice  of  the  Indian,  chanting  his  own  death 
song,  and  then  we  beheld  him,  marching 


THE  LAST  or  THE  ILLINI  87 

with  his  wife  and  children,  slowly  and  in 
single  file,  to  the  place  selected  for  the  ex- 
ecution, still  singing  and  beating  the  drum. 

When  we  reached  a  spot  near  where  the 
Chief  sat,  he  placed  the  drum  on  the  ground, 
and  his  wife  and  children  seated  themselves 
on  mats  which  had  been  prepared  for  them. 

He  then  addressed  the  Chief,  saying,  "I 
in  a  drunken  moment  stabbed  your  son, 
being  provoked  to  it  by  his  accusing  me  of 
being  a  coward,  and  calling  me  an  old  wo- 
man. I  fled  to  the  marshes  at  the  head  of 
the  Muskegon,  hoping  that  the  Great 
Spirit  would  favor  me  in  the  hunt,  so  that 
I  could  pay  you  for  your  lost  son.  I  was 
not  successful.  Here  is  the  knife  with 
which  I  killed  your  son;  by  it  I  wish  to  die. 
Save  my  wife  and  children.  I  am  done." 

The  Chief  received  the  knife,  and  hand- 
ing it  to  his  oldest  son,  said,  "Kill  him." 
The  son  advanced,  and  placing  his  left  hand 
on  the  shoulder  of  his  victim,  made  two  or 
three  feints  with  the  knife,  and  then 
plunged  it  into  his  breast  to  the  handle  and 
immediately  withdrew  it. 

Not  a  murmur  was  heard  from  the  In- 
dian or  his  wife  and  children.  Not  a  word 


88  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

was  spoken  by  those  assembled  to  witness. 
All  nature  was  silent,  broken  only  by  the 
singing  of  the  birds.  Every  eye  was  turned 
upon  the  victim,  who  stood  with  his  eyes 
fixed  firmly  upon  his  executioner,  and  calm- 
ly received  the  blow  without  the  appearance 
of  the  slightest  tremor.  For  a  few  moments 
he  stood  erect,  the  blood  gushing  from  the 
wound  at  every  pulsation,  then  his  knees 
began  to  quake,  his  eyes  and  face  assumed 
an  expression  of  death,  and  he  sank  upon 
the  ground. 

During  all  this  time  the  wife  and  chil- 
dren sat  perfectly  motionless,  gazing  upon 
the  husband  and  father,  not  a  sigh  or  mur- 
mur escaping  their  lips  until  life  was  ex- 
tinct, when  they  threw  themselves  upon  his 
dead  body,  lying  in  a  pool  of  blood,  in  grief 
and  lamentations,  bringing  tears  to  the  eyes 
of  the  traders,  and  causing  a  murmur  of 
sympathy  to  run  through  the  multitude  of 
Indians. 

Turning  to  Mr.  Deschamp,  down  whose 
cheeks  the  tears  were  trickling,  I  said, 
"Why  did  you  not  save  that  noble  Indian? 
A  few  blankets  and  shirts,  a  little  cloth 
would  have  done  it."  "Oh,  my  boy,"  he  re- 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  89 

plied,  "we  should  have  done  it.  It  was 
wrong  and  thoughtless  in  us.  What  a  scene 
we  have  witnessed !" 

Still  the  widowed  wife  and  her  children 
were  clinging  to  the  dead  body  in  useless 
tears  and  grief. 

The  Chief  and  his  family  sat  motionless 
for  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  evidently  re- 
gretting what  had  been  done.  Then  he 
arose,  approached  the  body,  and  in  a  tremb- 
ling voice  said,  "Woman,  stop  weeping. 
Your  husband  was  a  brave  man,  and  like 
a  brave,  was  not  afraid  to  die  as  the  rules 
of  our  nation  demand.  We  adopt  you,  your 
children  in  the  place  of  my  son;  our  lodges 
are  open  to  you,  live  with  any  of  us.  We 
will  treat  you  like  our  own  sons  and  daugh- 
ters. You  shall  have  our  protection  and 
love."  "Che-qui-ock"  (that  is  right)  was 
heard  from  the  assembled  Indians,  and  the 
trial  was  ended. 


90  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

Canto  3. 

Note  1. 

"To  their  village  of  La  Ventum." 
La  Ventum — the  chief  village  of  the  Illi- 
nois Indians,  was  situated  a  little  over  a 
mile  below  Starved  Rock,  on  a  low  mound 
on  the  bottom  land. — Parkman: — LaSalle, 
pages  223-4. 

Hennepin  counted  over  470  lodges  in  the 
village. 

Note  2. 

"Since  the  time  when  Noble  Tonty, 

With  a  mere  handful  of  allies, 

Beat  the  fierce  Five  Nations  from  it." 

In  1683  Tonty  was  at  Starved  Rock,  hold- 
ing it  with  a  small  force;  also  in  1684-5 
and  6. 

Note  3. 

"There  in  grandeur  stood  their  heaven." 
After  the  fortifications  of  1682-7  and  the 
subsequent  abandonment  of  the  rock  by  the 
French,  the  Indians  were  accustomed  to  flee 
to  Starved  Rock  for  refuge  in  times  of 
need. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI  91 

Note  4. 

"To  the  inner  side  they  hurried, 
Where  a  pathway  steep  and  narrow, 
Wound  its  way  unto  the  summits;" 
There  is  evidence  that  a  great  deal  of 
debris  has  accumulated,  especially  on  the 
inner  side  of  Starved  Rock,  during  com- 
paratively recent  years.    In  1769  'tis  likely 
that  the  rock  was  more  inaccessible  than 
today. 

Note  5. 

"The  only  noises 

Were  the  whisperings  of  the  breezes, 

Through  the  spreading  cedar  branches." 

The  center  of  the  rock,  when  I  was  there 
in  1892  and  '93,  was  comparatively  clear, 
with  the  exception  of  two  or  three  good- 
sized  oaks.  Around  the  extreme  edges 
were  quite  a  large  number  of  cedar  trees, 
some  of  good  size. 

Note  6. 

"By  the  cliff's  edge  sat  the  young  brave;" 

As  a  rule  an  Indian,  whether  descended 

from  a  Chief  or  not,  gained  his  ultimate 

rank  and  name  by  virtue  of  some  deed  or 


92  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ILLINI 

deeds  of  valor  done  either  in  a  battle  or  in 
a  foray.  Undoubtedly  the  origin  of  the 
custom  of  taking  scalps,  was  simply  to  have 
proof  positive  of  valor,  and  to  prevent  the 
boaster  or  impostor  from  gaining  equal 
rank  with  the  really  brave  man. 

Note  7. 

"Meanwhile  on  the  Rock's  high  summit, 
Vengeance  dire  and  stern  were  doing," 
Revenge  with  the  Indian  is  not  only  a 
powerful  motive  for  action,  but  it  is  a  duty. 

Note  8. 

"Still  the  grasses  keep  their  graves  green" 
In  many  places  adjacent  to  Starved  Rock, 
as  well  as  upon  the  rock  itself, — human 
bones  are  found  in  great  plenty  when  any 
excavating  is  attempted.  When  the  hotel 
was  built  on  the  inner  side  of  the  Rock  near 
its  base,  many  skeletons  were  dug  up.  On 
the  Rock  itself  I  found  several  human  finger 
bones  and  other  fragments  in  1892,  while 
digging  where  the  sod  has  been  worn  away. 


